April 1, 1282: Birth of Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig IV. Part I.

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Bishop of Rome, Duke of Upper Bavaria, Friedrich the Fair of Habsburg, Golden Bull, Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig IV, Holy Roman Empire, Imperial Elector, Johann of Bohemia, Pope John XXII

Ludwig IV (April 1, 1282 – October 11, 1347), called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328.

Ludwig was born in Munich, the son of Ludwig II, Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine, and his third wife Matilda of Habsburg, a daughter of Rudolph I of Habsburg, King of Germany and Gertrude of Hohenberg.

Ludwig IV was Duke of Upper Bavaria from 1294 to 1301 together with his elder brother Rudolf I, andvwas Margrave of Brandenburg until 1323, and Count Palatine of the Rhine until 1329, and became Duke of Lower Bavaria in 1340. He became Count of Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland in 1345 when his wife Margaret inherited those domains.

Election as German King and conflict with Habsburg

The death of Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VII in August 1313 necessitated the election of a successor. Heinrich VII’s son Johann, King of Bohemia since 1310, was considered by many prince-electors to be too young, and by others to be already too powerful.

Ludwig IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Duke of Upper Bavaria

One alternative was Friedrich the Fair, the son of Henry’s predecessor, Albrecht I, of the House of Habsburg. In reaction, the pro-Luxembourg party among the prince electors settled on Ludwig of Bavaria as its candidate to prevent Friedrich’s election.

On October 19, 1314, Archbishop Heinrich II of Cologne chaired an assembly of four electors at Sachsenhausen, south of Frankfurt. Participants were Ludwig’s brother, Rudolph I of the Palatinate, who objected to the election of his younger brother, Duke Rudolph I of Saxe-Wittenberg, and Heinrich of Carinthia, whom the Luxembourgs had deposed as King of Bohemia. These four electors chose Friedrich the Fair of Habsburg as the new German King.

The Luxembourg party did not accept this election and the next day a second election was held. Upon the instigation of Peter of Aspelt, Archbishop of Mainz, five different electors convened at Frankfurt and elected Ludwig as King.

These electors were Archbishop Peter himself, Archbishop Baldwin of Trier and King Johann of Bohemia – both of the House of Luxembourg – Margrave Waldemar of Brandenburg and Duke Johann II of Saxe-Lauenburg, who contested Rudolph of Wittenberg’s claim to the electoral vote.

This double election was quickly followed by two coronations: Ludwig was crowned at Aachen – the customary site of coronations – by Archbishop Peter of Mainz, while the Archbishop of Cologne, who by custom had the right to crown the new king, crowned Friedrich at Bonn. In the following conflict between the kings, Ludwig recognized in 1316 the independence of Switzerland from the Habsburg dynasty.

Friedrich the Fair of Habsburg

After several years of bloody war, victory finally seemed within the grasp of Friedrich, who was strongly supported by his brother Leopold. However, Friedrich’s army was decisively defeated in the Battle of Mühldorf on September 28, 1322 on the Ampfing Heath, where Friedrich and 1300 nobles from Austria and Salzburg were captured.

Ludwig IV held Friedrich captive in Trausnitz Castle (Schwandorf) for three years, but the determined resistance by Friedrich’s brother Leopold, the retreat of Johann of Bohemia from his alliance, and a ban by Pope John XXII, who excommunicated Ludwig in 1324, induced Ludwig to release Friedrich in the Treaty of Trausnitz of 13 March 1325.

In this agreement, Friedrich recognized Ludwig as legitimate ruler and undertook to return to captivity should he not succeed in convincing his brothers to submit to Ludwig IV.

Golden Bull of Ludwig IV 1328

As he did not manage to overcome Leopold’s obstinacy, Friedrich returned to Munich as a prisoner, even though the Pope had released him from his oath. Ludwig IV, who was impressed by such nobility, renewed the old friendship with Friedrich, and they agreed to rule the Empire jointly.

Since the Pope and the electors strongly objected to this agreement, another treaty was signed at Ulm on January 7, 1326, according to which Friedrich would administer Germany as King of the Romans, while Ludwig would be crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in Italy. However, after Leopold’s death in 1326, Friedrich withdrew from the regency of the Empire and returned to rule only Austria where he died on January 13, 1330.

September 28, 1322: Battle of Mühldorf.

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Battle of Müldorf, Electoral Collage, Frederick I of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV, House of Habsburg, House of Luxembourg, House of Wittelsbach, Imperial Elector, John the Blind of Bohemia

From The Emperor’s Desk: I generally am not too interested in wars and battles but this was an important battle in the History of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Battle of Mühldorf (also Battle of Ampfing) was fought near Mühldorf am Inn on September 28, 1322 between the Duchy of (Upper) Bavaria and Austria. The Bavarians were led by the Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig IV of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach, while the Austrians were under the command of his cousin, Friedrich the Fair from the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as Friedrich I as well as King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1314 (anti-king until 1325) as Friedrich III until his death.

picture: Friedrich I of Austria

Background

The early 14th century had the powerful dynasties of Habsburg, Luxembourg, and Wittelsbach rivaling for the rule over the Holy Roman Empire, while the Prince-Electors were anxious not to allow one noble family to install their dynasty permanently turning the Holy Roman Empire into a hereditary monarchy.

After the death of Emperor Heinrich VII of the House of Luxembourg in 1313, the Electoral Collage denied the succession of his son Johann, (1296 – 1346) who was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland.

Instead the Electoral Collage accorded its favor to Ludwig of Wittelsbach and Friedrich of Habsburg, but were split over the question of whom to choose. I’ve already mentioned the credentials of Friedrich the Fair, here is some background on Ludwig of Wittelsbach.

He was the son of Ludwig II, Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine, and Matilda of Austria, a daughter of King Rudolph I of Germany, of the House of Habsburg. Ludwig (III) was Duke of Upper Bavaria from 1294/1301 together with his elder brother Rudolf I, served as Margrave of Brandenburg until 1323, and as Count Palatine of the Rhine until 1329, and he became Duke of Lower Bavaria.

Therefore, because the Electoral Collage was split in 1314, a double election took place at Frankfurt. Cologne, the Electorate of the Palatinate, Bohemia, and the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg voted for Friedrich of Habsburg as Rex Romanorum.

Mainz, Archbishopric of Trier, Brandenburg and Elector Johann II of Saxe-Lauenburg (whose electoral dignity was denied by their Saxe-Wittenberg cousins) adopted Ludwig of Bavaria.

The draw resulted in a protracted conflict with violent fights, in which both sides tried to gain the support of the Imperial estates. In addition, Ludwig had to settle the domestic dispute with his brother Count Palatine Rudolf I (who had voted against him), which finally ended with Rudolf’s death in 1319.

Meanwhile, Friedrich continued his campaigns into Bavaria, devastating Ludwig’s’ duchy several times without meeting much resistance.

The battle

In 1322, Friedrich, encouraged by his previous expeditions, allied with the Bishop of Passau and the Salzburg Archbishopric. Their armed forces met on September 24 near Mühldorf on the Inn River, where Friedrich expected the arrival of further troops from Further Austria, led by his brother Leopold.

The battle did not go well for the Austrians. Ludwig had forged an alliance with King Johann of Bohemia and Burggrave Friedrich IV of Nuremberg (of the House of Hohenzollern) and on September 28 reached Mühldorf with a sizable army, including 1,800 knights and 500-600 mounted Hungarian archers.

Meanwhile, Leopold’s relief troops were barred from reaching the battlefield in time. Despite this unfavorable situation Friedrich agreed to meet Ludwig’s knights at once.

Friedrich’s army was defeated by Ludwig’s army outnumbering forces under high losses on both sides. More than 1,000 noblemen from Austria and Salzburg were captured, as was Friedrich himself and his younger brother, Heinrich the Friendly.

Aftermath

Though Emperor Ludwig IV had prevailed, his Imperial title remained contested, especially by Pope John XXII and Friedrich’s brother Leopold, who remained a fierce opponent.

After three years Emperor Ludwig IV had to release Friedrich from captivity and reconcile with him, even offering him a joint rule and the Rex Romanorum title in return for his support to receive the Imperial crown.

Neither the House of Wittelsbach nor the Habsburgs were able to defend their claims to the royal title, which after Ludwig IV’svdeath in 1347 again passed to Charles IV from the House of Luxembourg.

Birth of Friedrich-Wilhelm The Great Elctor of Brandenburg-Prussia.

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Brandenburg, Frederick William the Great Elector, Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm, Germany, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Empire, Imperial Elector, Prussia

On this date in History: February 16, 1620. Birth of Friedrich-Wilhelm the Great Elector, Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia.

Friedrich-Wilhelm (February 16, 1620 – April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as “the Great Elector” because of his military and political achievements. Friedrich-Wilhelm was a staunch pillar of the Calvinist faith, associated with the rising commercial class. He saw the importance of trade and promoted it vigorously. His shrewd domestic reforms gave Prussia a strong position in the post-Treaty of Westphalia 1648 German Holy Roman Empire along with political order of north-central Europe, setting Prussia up for elevation from duchy to kingdom, achieved under his son and successor, Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg who became Friedrich I, King in Prussia in 1701.

Biography

Elector Friedrich-Wilhelm was born in Berlin to Georg-Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, and Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate of the Rhine. His inheritance consisted of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the Duchy of Cleves, the County of Mark, and the Duchy of Prussia.

During the Thirty Years’ War, Georg-Wilhelm strove to maintain, with a minimal army, a delicate balance between the Protestant and Catholic forces fighting throughout the Holy Roman Empire. Out of these unpromising beginnings Frederick William managed to rebuild his war-ravaged territories. In contrast to the religious disputes that disrupted the internal affairs of other European states, Brandenburg-Prussia benefited from the policy of religious tolerance adopted by Frederick William. With the help of French subsidies, he built up an army to defend the country. In the Second Northern War, he was forced to accept Swedish vassalage for the Duchy of Prussia according to the terms of the Treaty of Königsberg.

Friedrich-Wilhelm was a military commander of wide renown, and his standing army would later become the model for the Prussian Army. He is notable for his joint victory with Swedish forces at the Battle of Warsaw, which, according to Hajo Holborn, marked “the beginning of Prussian military history.” However, the Swedes turned on him at the behest of King Louis XIV and invaded Brandenburg. After marching 250 kilometers in 15 days back to Brandenburg, he caught the Swedes by surprise and managed to defeat them on the field at the Battle of Fehrbellin, destroying the myth of Swedish military invincibility. He later destroyed another Swedish army that invaded the Duchy of Prussia during the Great Sleigh Drive in 1678. He is noted for his use of broad directives and delegation of decision-making to his commanders, which would later become the basis for the German doctrine of Auftragstaktik, and he is noted for using rapid mobility to defeat his foes.

Domestic policies

Friedrich-Wilhelm is notable for raising an army of 40,000 soldiers by 1678, through the General War Commissariat presided over by Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal. He was an advocate of mercantilism, monopolies, subsidies, tariffs, and internal improvements. Following Louis XIV’s revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Friedrich-Wilhelm encouraged skilled French and Walloon Huguenots to emigrate to Brandenburg-Prussia with the Edict of Potsdam, bolstering the country’s technical and industrial base. On Blumenthal’s advice he agreed to exempt the nobility from taxes and in return they agreed to dissolve the Estates-General. He also simplified travel in Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia by connecting riverways with canals, a system that was expanded by later Prussian architects, such as Georg Steenke; the system is still in use today.

Marriages

On December 7, 1646 in The Hague, Friedrich-Wilhelm entered into a marriage, proposed by Blumenthal as a partial solution to the Jülich-Berg question, with Luise Henriette of Nassau (1627–1667), daughter of Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels and his 1st cousin once removed through Willem the Silent. Their children were as follows:

1. Wilhelm-Heinrich, Electoral Prince of Brandenburg (1648–1649)

2. Carl, Electoral Prince of Brandenburg (1655–1674)

3. Friedrich III-I of Prussia (1657–1713), his successor

4. Amalie (1656–1664)

5. Heinrich (1664–1664)

6. Ludwig (1666–1687), who married Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł

On June 13, 1668 in Gröningen, Friedrich-Wilhelm married Sophie Dorothea of Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, daughter of Philipp, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Sophie Hedwig of Saxe-Lauenburg. Their children were the following:

1. Philipp-Wilhelm (1669–1711)

2. Marie Amelie (1670–1739)

3. Albrecht-Friedrich (1672–1731)

4. Carl-Philipp (1673–1695)

5. Elisabeth Sofie (1674–1748)

6. Dorothea (1675–1676)

7. Christian Ludwig (1677–1734)